Whole lot of them this is State Senator Harriet Chandler of the first Wister
district and this is Beacon Hill chat the show that brings interesting people to
talk about some of the interesting things they're doing and today we are privileged
to have with us my friend and my my colleague Representative Jim O'Day of the
fourteenth Wister district and Jim it is such
a pleasure to have you here you are you're all over it you're doing so many things
that were were lucky to to sit you down for
a little bit and and catch up with you is really what we're going to do during the
show you're from the West or will fourteenth Wester Where is the fourteenth Wester
district for those of you who don't know well as you say it encompasses part of was
the northern part of the city it was there and it also includes the town of West
Boylston So it's words so it would still all of wood to. Pricing to five
avoid one. Would three precincts one three and five and
then the two precincts in the town of West Boylston and that's it that's that's you
represent the northern part. Of this area right and this is your
what your well I mean I guess I'm starting my seventh year I've had three full
terms I came in on the special election as you remember on May of two thousand and
seven and so I'm starting my seventh year. And we have seen you grow and do
kind of wonderful things Jim's got a very interesting background because he was
a social worker and there's something very sensitive
a compassion about anybody who's been
a social worker in general is certainly no exception to that rule when
a social worker for how many years twenty four for the bomb
a social services and that's really very kind of you to say this and that and I
appreciate those words true I mean you've been Reba has talked about what
a wonderful social worker you were now kind you were and how understanding and we
see that we got the benefit of bad the legislation you know I'm so so strongly
fortunate to think that my social worker had the opportunity to meet my wife this
wasn't
a bad thing and secondly to have the opportunity to work with so many families here
and in the in the in the community in the area was there in some of the towns
around that was there and and then having the great fortune of being elected and
really trying to take you know the work that you would I was doing as
a social work and try to put them into
a larger largest scale and that's been the really exciting part and challenging
part since becoming
a state legislator and now you're serving as chair of the older adult.
Other Affairs Committee and you say you co-chair that with Senator Pat Jaylen and
you really handle everything that seniors have an interest in yeah I mean obviously
before I was had the good fortune of being appointed to the position by the speaker
you know not unlike
a number of our colleagues here you have the standings and ideas of some of the
issues that scene is faced right but now having been appointed as the co-chair of
the committee it's almost overwhelming because there are so many issues you know
employment issues transportation issues Medicaid issues domestic violence. Just
as one of the good guys by domestic violence coalition and you
mentioned about domestic violence for older adults I don't think people realize
that that that is a problem it's
a problem you know mental health issues right actually we're going to be joining
with Representative Liz Mallya who's the one year the co-chair of the Committee on
Substance Abuse and Mental Health and we're going to be doing an oversight hearing
at the State House relative to the issues facing seniors around substance abuse
that's a wonderful idea of health because I think as
a society community is age. The problems that we see with you know
thirty year olds forty year olds they don't necessarily go away as
a population ages so it's becoming the older our communities become those problems
associate themselves to the seniors as well they grow rebellious after Russian and
people are living longer and L.
So. What's what what's the best thing that you have seen happen in the you've been
in the chair for
a year what's what's what excites you them. About this chairmanship Well I think
what you know right now because that's all I can talk about right so right now
we've been able to as of April we were able to get
a pretty significant increase in the budget for services for seniors in their homes
right and that is very important it's huge really important. People
seniors they want to remain in their homes as long as it's human leave possible
right and I think there is right I think that's correct we were able to put some
additional monies into what it's called the cops account Enhanced Community Options
Programs So those are programs that even those that we might be eligible for
Medicaid in actually be eligible for for hospitalization or to go into
a nursing I don't want to go I don't want to do that so we have to make certain
that we can provide services so that those seniors can remain in home and in in
order to do that we have to have the ability to pay for that so people watching
this representative who want to know how that's going to affect them maybe they're
a senior watching this and they'd like to remain in their home too but they just
are struggling to be able to stay in their home right now so it's
a little loud but a sabse radio Ury
a service programs you know like the you know the senior centers and and you
know
a good friend to Swan right and all the services that his agency provides for us to
continue to do assessments of families in talk with seniors and talk with their
families and really try to figure out what services are necessary so that we can
allow them to stay at home in through that process we look and find out what
agencies are the most appropriate for them for them right and that that will make
a difference for them they will be able to I guess it's too much to say that you
can promise everyone who wants to stay at home. They will be able to because it
really depends on whether how many activities of daily living Well it depends on
that it depends really on how much you know what is the level of care that they
need you know a bill that was just released. Probably
a month or so ago from my committee and is now in. Financial. Ways and I
know you're all human health if I had your financing yes. Where we're looking at
you know ways of continuing to provide those kinds of services at
a higher level of care you know asking asap to be able to hopefully provide twenty
four hours seven days
a week. Also broadening the amount of services that TCAS can
provide and some of the issues that's not clear is this I'm sorry in some of the
issues currently you know it's more of a medical need for my P.C.A.
To come into your home but will we may have. The MENTIRA issues that I had to the
degree that you need to be hospitalized cognitive cognitive challenges that as it
stands now
a personal care attendant they don't have the ability to come into your home for
that and so if they were able to come in it would be something where we might need
to just remind somebody to make sure that you eat right remind the senior May she
take the medications remind the senior to make sure you know when you finish
cooking that you turn your stove off so without that ability those folks might have
to come into a much more costly residential setting right into
a nursing home but with those services we allow them to be able to stay at home
having the personal care attend the chairmen and make those kinds of cueing
reminders to them that allows them then to say it's in the home so I see that as
a piece alleges. That I think would be usually beneficial and you think it has
a good chance of getting on the floor well I'm certainly hopeful of that right I'm
going to be making sure I reach out to
a chairman Walsh and really tell him that we were happy to release it from our
committee and that the important testimony from all the folks that came to the
state also we had
a committee was very positive I mean it seems that people do want to stay in their
own homes as long as they possibly can and it's so much more expensive for them to
go into
a nursing home so much more so much as you know I mean that's an issue there let's
remember she was doing it for you know in rightly so. And again they want to stay
at home my community is is where your heart is right homo your heart is right and
as you mentioned earlier and some cases that just can't be accommodated but when it
can it makes the most since we have to go for
a strike that's been one of the governor's call since he became right elected and I
agree with that but also we have to make sure that whatever it is that we have
providing in the community that it's that it's right it's appropriate it's cost
effective and safe and it's safe I mean that it's
a clients are getting the care that they rightfully richly deserve you know we
don't have assisted living for people who don't have
a lot of money and that's
a real problem because assisted living gives people who can afford it the
opportunity to live in a. Sort of
a communal setting right but to be able to also have their own private apartment it
might be small might have very limited cooking facilities but and that's another
important thing it provides for meals right as older people sometimes forget to eat
right I remember my mom who took meals on wheels sometimes
they stashed. Stacked up in her fridge because she forgot to eat and then that was
that wasn't important thing to her to she forgot in the course of it.
Is there anything along the lines of assisted living that's going on well that's
a great question in actually just the other day at the state house I was walking
through the hallway and there were
a number of advocates in actually assisted living. C.E.O.'s at the
State House and they currently are in some discussions presently with Secretary had
seen around those very issues that would be wonderful on those very issues.
You know there is some regulations for assisted living but there's discussion now
in looking at expanding some of those regulations in the hopeful that those are the
kinds of of topics that they have the opportunity to really sort to try to begin to
address you know you mentioned meals on wheels you know and you know I just have to
say that you know here in the city of Worster here in the town of West Boylston who
are so lucky senators on Aging do unbelievable word or so and that we were able to
win the most recent budget back in April added to their budgets
a little bit you know it was
a seven dollars per person feed that we were able to increase eight dollars so
doesn't seem like a lot knowing there is it but that it was
a huge stretch it was governments in those open and I just can't you know thank
those folks that work at both of those locations and we're all in tears that do
a lot of that hurting loads and loads they just make such
a difference and as we say allowing seniors and continue to have that independence
and remain in their own homes well you had a father that lived to
a very ripe age of eighty nine eighty nine and I know you were deeply involved. In
his care probably makes you
a little more sensitive than you might normally be makes any of us who've gone
through it with our parents
a lot more sensitive. What that meant for you what what it what do you bring from
that experience you know I have to tell you you're exactly right you know I was I
so going to start off the show that you know we would dabble with senior issues as
well as all the other issues that sort of flood you as the legislative but that
experience as has been the case I think with many of us how we address things and
and look at your own experience based on what I experience as chair and so you know
so two things my mom had passed away so we had before my dad in we had we had
hospice coming into the house for her at the home and my dad was great about being
with her yeah I had
a paternal uncle that also lived with them at the time and he was fabulous so the
family along with Hospice really sort of played right where they were they were
there and and I think she was much happier in that place than now she would have
been in an institutional setting my dad was still very active in did wind up going
to one of the area nursing homes where the care was I have no complaint and that's
because you're right but there are so high that as
a child absolute to do it that's one of the things that he was most adamant about
was you know after his payment for staying at the facility was taken away that he
wanted to make sure that he had his seventy two dollars and fifty cents for his
personal needs right and I don't think he was alone in that issue I think all of us
seniors want to make sure that are there other funding is taken up. In this safe
in well run for syllabi but they want to make
a phone call if they had the ability maybe to get out for
a little while their own you know. Just deodorant and toothpaste in. You had
really you know if you had
a dentist appointment right that was extremely important to him so that was
something when we did the budget this year you can get back to
a machine today and we've really tried to make sure that we keep that seventy to
fifty but what I want to try to do is always sure the debt language increases for
sure but the make sure that the language doesn't have to be asked for every year oh
that would be one that all comes
a subtle pot of the actual budget itself that would be why film there you know we
often say that it is too bad that decision makers other than ourselves haven't
had the experience of having
a loved one who has gone through maybe an illness or whatever so they
truly understand we're dealing with autism now and you know people who've had the
experience of having a friend or
a family member with autism look at it very differently than someone who's never
been exposed to it before and so you're absolutely right your father's experience
in the nursing home with the seventy two fifty makes makes
a difference it really does obviously the social service agencies the senior
social service agencies were thrilled when they heard that you were going to be
there their house chair I mean you relate to them and you're here you're terrific
with them what was the biggest challenge you faced. Well I think coming in coming
into the new position it happens so quickly and then the very next thing that if
this was me running what is the budget you have to get yourself completely
familiarize with all the line items you know in all the areas that you know the
Committee on Elder Affairs has been charged with sort of managing and then all the
advocates coming in and trying to get your attention in telling you about all of
why their particular little niches is the most important and then trying to sort
all of that out and prioritizing you know what truly is important and what isn't
and if you don't mind I would say that you know even even yesterday we had the it
was
a press conference yesterday and it was really more on yesterday's account more specific
to the M.B.T.
A in Boston however there is
a more broader Syrian CERN for this so it has to do with paratransit in the ride
it's what they call it and boss night back in two thousand and twelve the cost of
those individuals with disabilities all mobility issues and seniors taking the ride
increased one hundred percent so as
a result of the one hundred percent increase in the fair to those that took the
ride right
a ship fell off twenty percent they thought maybe we're going to be nine percent
actually fell off nineteen percent and I want to exaggerate it's huge so I am very
fond So we now are looking at seniors not using the had service seniors becoming
isolated scene is having now if they're going to use the service am I going to not
do my grocery shopping am I not going to buy my medications we can maybe get over
an hour this week and I'm not trapped in my house so it's
a huge problem right there but I think you know we certainly have folks here and in
was that use our paratransit system so in some areas don't have database that
ability so we have to kind of figure out so what do we do in those areas so
transportation I guess is my point. Is
a huge issue right for us seniors whether it's in the BTA share area right over
here in central Massachusetts parts west plants all theses So says that that you
care about that yeah you have transportation underlies
a lot of things that we do root out here in the central part of Massachusetts have
to take that into consideration and every single thing we do we provide or offer if
people can't get there you know. We can't provide we can't who that help deal with
that right and most of our children today that they have jobs husband and wife have
jobs. They're not going to be around like their parents who are like
like our parents who are around to take our grandparents because it doesn't happen
anymore and so we've got to provide for that as and I think you and I see that as
a job that the state needs to provide It's not
a private individuals problem because there are
a lot of private individuals who just can't handle it right I mean I think you and
I come from
a similar place we don't think about what government's role should be in what it
isn't but I think in certain circumstances you know those that. Able to take
advantage of some sort of way of getting to work at home from work into the grocery
store whatever the case may be we have to make sure we have to step into that
opportunity so you know I've sat at
a number of round tables recently. With. Issues around seniors and as I
said earlier it's overwhelming. We have some commissions that are meeting regularly
over the last several months protective services for seniors huge issue but you
know what does that really mean there's all kinds of little. Areas of
protective service exact their services sometimes means protecting against family
members that's correct and it in its financial exploitation which is part of that
right but also it can be more of
a physical thing but the financial exploitation piece has been
a piece that has sort of resonated with me and I was interested to learn that the
banking industry already is doing some work either around you know if they see
someone one of their club customers coming on and in or that amount of time taking
out large sums of money red flags go out early so we're really trying to tie in
those kinds of individuals banking financial services district attorney's offices
all those were
a number of folks that are sitting on this particular. Boyd to
talk about this commission I should say it's interesting because one of my dear
friends years ago was
a woman named Rosalie Wolfe and Rosalie did her Ph D.
Dissertation on the subject she's one of the founders of this area of Elder
exploitation and there wasn't nobody seemed to understand it or know about it
before and she has she brought it to light and it's
a very serious problem yet it's got into
a there's another whole layer on there right now about the about the Internet and
the access that the it the no I want all of our seniors that are at home you know
right I'll be spending some time on the computer is right no you're right
a variety of reasons and there's more than think about why it's an unbelievable
right so. So you put not
a lot of fires is what we're trying right trying to educate folks and make people
aware of the ways that they can be harmed any special legislation that you have in
the works that you think we should be aware of well I think you know with these
commissions will hold me there will be all that come up with
a series of recommendations and probably some bills that will come out of that that
we will hopefully be able to get some real traction on. So we can hope to prevent
those things from happening and I think there is no one who doesn't have an elderly
person as part of their circle of friendships family whatever and so it really
affects everybody one way or the other and as you can imagine you just talked about
sort of the family aspect of the potential for you know. Right senior.
You have to sort of look back to the problems that we faced when we talked about
the epidemic and I'm for sure that hasn't been resolved either but the epidemic of
domestic violence in the victim doesn't want to bring charges because it's
a family member or it's their husband or that jury must hear about. So it's
a big issue but we found that here in the commonwealth there has been an
opportunity to sort of change that culture
a little bit and that the dish the prosecutors can now sort of bring charges even
really victim doesn't want to bring charges in the domestic violence case so we're
trying to work on techniques or our ideas on how we can do that when
a family member has exploited you know senior and that senior doesn't want to bring
the charges against them but we could still as
a commonwealth go forward with that why can you tell our viewers that they
might be aware of that might help them and if they're if they're seniors or if they
have responsibility for a senior any words of advice from either your role as
a social worker or your role as the chairman of the Elder Affairs Committee Yeah I
mean I think it's really important that. No one should hesitate
if they think somebody is being abused or neglected or exploited to tell someone
above that and certainly here in the city it was the you know hold all the services
is
a great place to begin right they have protective services of the partment within the
services so that's an area that I think we should all be aware of and know the
great work that they do certainly my office I'm very fortunate I have to reflect
staff in the folks in call six one seven seven two to twenty eight and
and we're happy to deal with any kind of senior issue that folks may be struggling
with have questions with we have the wherewithal within the office to certainly
ploy you to another agency of that's necessary or or help gather the information
that you're looking for we can respond back to you know wash and that's that's
that's wonderful advice. And hopefully people and you've given them your telephone
number doesn't give it to them again it's six one seven seven two to twenty eight
ten and that is the committee on Elder Affairs and if you're not available your
staff is available and they'd be happy to help them in their you know listen the
staff makes us all look great in their wonderful staff they do great work the
researcher in our committee has been on on the committee for I think around three
years now and she is just wealth of information and knows the necessary agencies
that we can reach out to and really hope people had to questions we understand that
there are lots of questions put the health care issue to the right with the change
in the Affordable Care Act. There will be there will be questions and we're happy
to be able to. Answer those questions for you and if they do you also have office
hours so that they can when they read about your office hours they can come and
visit you there well I appreciate you bringing that out Senator Yeah once
a month I have office I was both in was there and it was Boylston and we're still
we meet at the Perkins library in Greenville and then in West Coast and we meet at
the you know what spoils of the beam in
a library and usually there's an announcement in the thing injury or the over the
banner and we're spoiled saying what day of the month that we're present at those
visiting but if they're just not sure if they're just not sure. Representative
O'Day is an easy person to talk to and he's the kind of person that has been there
done that and he's there to help you I mean he's his heart is enormous so we are
delighted that you joined us today we're delighted to chair that committee because
you do wonderful things there and we thank you for coming and we thank you for
joining us today as well this is Senator Harriet Chandler saying good bye for knell
for Beacon Hill chat we'll see you again next week same time same place.